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Round four of the AW Green Shield season was the first competitive game of the New Year across the McDonald’s NSW Premier Cricket competitions.

Bankstown’s batting duo of Zeeshaan Ahmed and captain Cameron Cotter started 2018 with a bang lighting up the competition with twin centuries against Blacktown at Jenson Park. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, opening batsman Ahmed was soon joined by his skipper when the first wicket fell with 28 runs on the board.

It was all one-way traffic from that point as the pair posted a monstrous 244-run partnership. Cotter was the first to go for 108 from 142 balls with ten boundaries. However, Ahmed continued the onslaught striking 13 fours and four sixes on his way to an unbeaten 154 off 137 deliveries. Bankstown’s total of 4-325 was always going to be a tough ask for the opposition, who were all-out in the final over for 177, handing Bankstown a bonus-point win.

Mosman’s Flynn Farquharson was the next closest to reach the triple figures. He finished unbeaten on 88 from just 91 deliveries in a knock that included nine fours and a solitary six. It was a crucial inning for his side who were 3-57, but a 106-run partnership with wicket-keeper Jesse Budden (37), and a 52-run stand with Mandar Mariguddi (23 not out) helped lift Mosman to 5-222. It was just out of reach for Sydney University finishing on 199 on the back of Dominic O'Shannessy’s 57.

An impressive five-wicket performance from Fairfield-Liverpool’s opening bowler Harison Nemme resulted in yet another classic Green Shield match for the season. Fairfield-Liverpool was dismissed for just 74 after being sent in to bat first by Randwick-Petersham. Nemme made an immediate impact with the ball in his opening spell taking two early wickets to have the home side in early trouble at 3-5. Randwick’s captain Mac Jenkins tried to get his team’s innings back on track, but when Nemme also removed him for ten wickets continued to tumble with Nemme being the chief destroyer finishing with figures of 5-18 from his eight over spell to see his side home by only three runs.

Akash Biradar was another bowler to take five-wickets in round four of the Green Shield competition. The University of New South Wales bowler claimed figures of 5-40 from ten overs to set his side 208 for victory against Western Suburbs which UNSW passed with five wickets remaining.

Sutherland’s Reaf Bremer’s five-wicket haul wasn’t enough for his team who fell short against Hawkesbury at Owen Earle Oval. Bremer took 5-21 from seven overs against the home side, including the wicket of Awad Naqvi (73) who was the only batsman to reach a half-century in the match.